April 8, 2004

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Missouri will travel to Norman, Okla. this weekend for its first Big 12 Conference road series of the season. The first game of the three-game set will get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's game in Oklahoma will be shown on Fox Sports Net and will get underway at 2 p.m. and the final game will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday. MU enters the weekend with a 21-9-1 record and a 2-4 Big 12 Conference mark. The Sooners are 19-11 and 7-2 in the Big 12. Last year, Missouri took two of the three games between the two teams in Columbia. Up next for the Tigers will be a road game at Southwest Missouri State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday before hosting Nebraska next weekend.

Last Time Out
Missouri lost its third game in a row on Wednesday, as Saint Louis downed the Tigers 3-1 at Taylor Stadium. The win was the first for the Billikens in the last 13 meetings between the two teams. SLU got on the board first, putting a run across the plate before the first out was recorded. Freshman LHP Nathan Culp started on the mound for MU and after early troubles allowed the first run to cross, he settled down and struck out the next three batters. The score remained 1-0 until the Billikens added a run in the top of the seventh inning as Kyle Wort doubled to drive in Drew Eder. They would add a final run in the ninth inning. Mizzou scored its only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning as senior 1B Cody Ehlers homered to left field to lead off the inning. Ehlers now has 10 home runs on the year to lead the team. The Tigers matched Saint Louis with seven hits on the night, but left 12 baserunners on, compared to the Billikens' seven left on. Sophomore RF James Boone extended his hitting streak to 16 games, as he went 3-for-4 on the night. The 16-game streak matches the longest this season by Mizzou. Earlier in the year, senior Lee Laskowski put together a 16-game streak. Culp pitched a strong six innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run. He stuck out three and walked one. Only one of Saint Louis' three runs scored on Wednesday was earned.

The Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma enters the weekend with a 19-11 overall record and a 7-2 Big 12 Conference mark. The Sooners are coming off of a loss to Dallas Baptist on Tuesday, their first loss in eight games. OU has swept two of its three conference series this year (Baylor and Kansas). It took one game of the three-game set with Texas. Last year, Missouri took two-of-three from the Sooners in Columbia. The Tigers took game one 6-1 and followed that with a 7-6 win in the second game. Oklahoma avoided the sweep with a 7-0 win in the series finale. The last time Mizzou traveled to Norman was 2002. That year MU swept the series winning by scores of 10-9, 9-8 and 16-10.

An Oklahoma Homecoming
It will be a homecoming for several Tigers this weekend in Oklahoma. The state most represented on the Mizzou roster other than Missouri is Oklahoma. Six players on the MU squad hail from the Sooner state. The Tigers two leading hitters, sophomore James Boone and senior Cody Ehlers, are each from Oklahoma. Boone was an all-state selection for Clinton High School his senior year. He leads the Tigers with a .388 batting average and has a 16-game hitting streak in tact heading into the OU series. Ehlers hit .401 during his career at Stillwater High School and set the Oklahoma large-school record with 23 home runs. He is hitting .379 on the year and leads Mizzou with 10 home runs and 40 RBI. Tigers junior relief pitcher Travis Wendte recorded 24 wins in his high school career at Moore High School in Moore, Okla. Wendte is tied for third on the all-time saves list at MU and continues to rehab from shoulder surgery. Junior Bo Davis was an all-state pick for Jenks High School in Tulsa his senior season and was a two-time all-conference selection. Also from Tulsa, is redshirt freshman catcher Scott Fisher. He hit .517 with 10 home runs during his senior year at Cascia Hall Prep High School. Sophomore RHP Landon Scales was 9-0 in 10 appearances for Lookeba-Sickles High School in Lookeba, Okla. and had a 0.64 ERA.

Tigers Reach 20-win Mark Against KSU
With its 12-0 win over Kansas State on March 28, Missouri notched its 20th win of the year in its 27th game of 2004. It is the quickest that the Tigers have reached the 20-win mark since the 1998 team won 20 of its first 26 games.

Boone Already Earning Honors
Sophomore RF James Boone leads the team with a .388 batting average and has a 16-game hitting streak heading into the weekend. The 16-game streak is tied for the longest of the season for Missouri. Lee Laskowski had a 16-game streak snapped against Kansas State on March 28. During the streak, which started against Wake Forest on March 12, Boone is hitting .466 with 27 hits, 17 runs scored and six RBI. Boone, who is from Clinton, Okla., was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on March 16, after going 10-for-15, good for a .667 batting average, in the four games at the Easton/USA Challenge leading MU to the tournament title. He had two doubles, two RBI, two stolen bases, three runs scored, a slugging percentage of .800 and an on base percentage of .722 for the weekend. He opened the tournament with a 4-for-5 performance against Wake Forest. He followed that with two hits in each of the next three games. He was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored against Indiana State. He then went 2-for-3 against Memphis and was 2-for-4 with a run scored against Tennessee-Martin.

An A for Ehlers
Mizzou senior 1B Cody Ehlers leads the Tigers in nearly every offensive category. He has started all but one game at first base for the Tigers this season and is hitting .379 on the year, second best on the team. Ehlers, a native of Stillwater, Okla., leads the team in home runs (10), RBI (40), runs scored (31), hits (47), doubles (12) and total bases (87). He had a 15-game hitting streak snapped last Saturday against Baylor. He opened the year by recording at least one hit in each of the first six games of the season. Ehlers has had more than one hit in 13 of MU's 31 games this year and has had multi-hit games in nine of the last 15 games. The senior also has had at least four hits in two games this year.

The Hits Keep on Coming
Four Tigers enter the weekend with multi-game hitting streaks in tact led by sophomore RF James Boone's 16-game streak. It is the longest of the year for Boone and matches the longest of the season by a Tiger hitter. Senior DH Lee Laskowski had a 16-game hitting streak snapped on March 28 against Kansas State. The 16-game streak is the longest of the year for MU this year. Senior LF Ryan Rallo had a 14-game streak earlier in the year, joining Laskowski, Boone, senior Cody Ehlers and sophomore Zane Taylor as Tigers with double-digit hit streaks this season. Taylor has an 11-game hitting streak in tact heading into the matchup with OU, which is the longest of the year for him. Ehlers and freshman Gary Arndt each have had hit in the last two games for Mizzou.

Isn't It Grand
Although senior Brad Flanders' six home runs are just third best on the team, his homers have probably made the most news. On April 2, against Baylor, he hit his sixth home run of the season and the 35th homer by Mizzou this season, but the first grand slam for the Tigers since Kyle Johnson did it last April, also against Baylor. On Feb. 21, Flanders became just the second Mizzou player ever to hit three home runs in one game as he did it against Coastal Carolina. Jerry Schoonmaker hit three homers as part of the 1954 National Championship team at Missouri. Flanders three-HR game also tied a Big 12 record. He was 4-for-5 on the day with seven RBI and three runs scored. He recorded another multi-home run game of the year, as he went 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI against Chicago State on March 19.

On the Hill
Senior RHP Danny Hill has been the Tigers' #1 starter since the opening day of the season. Hill, who started the season opener, has a 3-2 record and a 4.59 ERA. After going 4.2 innings in the opener and pitching 5.0 innings against Coastal Carolina in his second start of the year on Feb. 19, he has gone at least six innings in his last five starts, including three seven-inning outings. Hill's longest outing of the year came against Washington on March 5, when he allowed just one run in 7.1 innings of work, taking the victory. He gave up just two runs on only two hits in seven innings against Chicago State on March 19 to pick up another win. He leads Mizzou with 53 strikeouts on the season and has a team-high 51.0 innings pitched.

Joining the 300 Club
With Mizzou's 3-2 win over Memphis on March 13, Head Coach Tim Jamieson picked up his 300th career victory. He currently has a record of 307-225-2 in his 10 season with MU. Jamieson's first win came on Feb. 27, 1995 with a 12-2 MU victory over Lincoln University. He recorded his 100th win on March 14, 1998 by defeating Eastern Michigan 3-0, and his 200th win came against Wichita State, a 9-8 victory on March 7, 2001. He is the third coach in Missouri history to record 300 wins, joining John "Hi" Simmons (481 wins) and Gene McArtor (733 wins).

Hello Rallo
Mizzou senior Ryan Rallo had three home runs in two days last weekend against Baylor and is second on the team with nine homers on the year. Rallo homered twice on Friday in MU's 12-4 win over Baylor, driving in four runs in the game. Then on Saturday, he connected for his ninth homer of the year. He is hitting .330 on the year with 33 RBI and 29 runs scored. Rallo had a 14-game hitting streak snapped at the Easton/USA Challenge in Millington, Tenn. against Memphis. During the streak, Rallo had a .353 batting average, five home runs, four doubles and 18 RBI. The streak was snapped as Rallo was 0-for-1, with four walks, against Memphis.

Lee Leads the Way
Senior OF Lee Laskowski had a 16-game hitting streak snapped on March 28 against Kansas State. The streak was the longest of the season for any Tiger this season and is the longest of Laskowski's career. During the 16-games streak, he hit .391, with five doubles, two triples and five home runs. He drove in 19 runs and scored 10 times. Laskowski has had seven multi-hit games and is fourth on the team with a .317 batting average. He was hampered by injuries and finished with just two home runs last year, but has already past that mark in 2004. Actually, he matched that total in one weekend as he homered in back-to-back games against Youngstown State.

Dessau Sits 'em Down
A transfer from Forest Park Community College, junior RHP Erik Dessau has assumed the duties as the Tigers regular Saturday starter. Dessau is 5-2 on the year with a 1.97 ERA. He has started two of Missouri's three shutouts this year and has not allowed more than three runs in any of his eight starts. Dessau has turned in seven inning outing in four starts this season, including a season-long 7.1 innings of work against Kansas State. He had a season-high eight strikeouts against Youngstown State on Feb. 28.

Broshuis Brushes Opponents Away
Junior RHP Garrett Broshuis recorded his first career complete game shutout on March 28 (albeit a seven-inning game) in MU's 12-0 win over Kansas State. He allowed just two hits and struck out seven to move to 6-0 on the year. The seven-inning outing matches his longest of the year. Broshuis leads the team with his six wins on the year. He took the win in his first three starts and was the starter in the game with Washington on March 7 which ended in a tie, a game in which the Tigers' led when Broshuis left the game. He broke the string of six-inning outings by going seven innings against Tennessee-Martin on March 14 in his fifth start. He allowed only one run on four hits and did not give up a hit until the fifth inning. Broshuis is second on the team with 50 strikeouts and has had a season-high eight K's three times this year (Portland, Coastal Carolina and Baylor). He has an ERA of 2.54 and has allowed just one run in four of his eight starts to go along with the shutout of KSU.

Bo Knows Triples
Junior Bo Davis, a Tulsa, Okla. native, had pinch hit for the Tigers in 10 games prior to getting his first start of the season on March 21, at first base. Davis took advantage of the spot in the lineup, going 4-for-6 with two triples, three RBI and a three runs scored. Davis led off the game by getting hit by a pitch and had singles in the second and fifth innings. With two outs in the sixth inning, he tripled down the right field line, driving in a run. He would then score on a wild pitch. In the eighth inning, Davis again tripled to right, driving in another run. He would later score on an error by the third baseman. Davis is the first Tiger to have two triples in a game since Kyle Johnson did it against Northern Iowa in 2002.

Up Next
The Tigers will travel to Springfield, Mo. for a midweek matchup with Southwest Missouri State at 7 p.m. on April 14, before returning to Taylor Stadium for a three-games series against Nebraska on April 16-18. Game one against the Huskers will get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The second game will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday and the final game of the weekend is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.